Public Comment

As a long time left leaning local environmental activist, I have been scratching my head over why our environmentally minded,(I thought) City of Berkeley equates environmentalism with high density big development projects, like the high rise apartment building featured as "luxury apartments" in Judith Sherr's article in the Jan. 18 issue of the "Berkeley Voice", and dubbed an "ecotower" by "East Bay Express" writer and editor Robert Gammon. Is environmentalism being turned on its head? Rosa Koire's book, "Behind The Green Mask: U.N.Agenda 21", telling of her similar experiences with the City of Santa Rosa and its relationship to international interests, is a stunning eye opener.

Can you remember when we started hearing jargon phrases like "smart growth", "high density urban mixed use", and that word that is music to an environmentalists' ears,"sustainability"? The U.N.'s idea of sustainability is quite different from what the average environmentalist might have in mind. Have you watched as old buildings are torn down and huge building after huge building is erected now seemingly unoccupied? Why? The City of Berkeley did not come up with this stuff. The exact same lingo, methods, and policies, "climate change action plans", are being adopted by cities all over this county, country and world. El Cerrito, Oakland, Walnut Creek Albany, have all unbeknownst to most of their constituents, signed on with ICLEI. The International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives is tasked with carrying out the goals of U.N. Agenda 21 originally signed onto by George Bush Senior, and by every subsequent president. Shouldn't it concern us that an outside unelected non governmental organization is inserting itself into the zoning and planning departments of cities all over this country and regional boards are being created that make land use decisions unaccoutable to the public?

"Smart growth" is not a local initiative. It is a land and power grab by international corporate forces who are hijacking and financing the unwitting frightened leftist environmental movement into accepting phony solutions for global warming. Those on the left who are willing to make sacrifices and take personal responsibility for environmental degradation, need to apprise themselves of how they are being used, the ultimate goal being to take away the sovereignty of local city governments, take away property rights of average citizens via redevelopment, eminent domain and rezoning, and to increase government control over our lives.

The farther government gets from the people the less power we have over our lives and local environment. Do the research. We are not getting a straight story from our city about what is being done in the name of climate change, and why.